Wellness Program – Developing Objectives and Goals.
Develop goals and objectives
Objectives are general guidelines that explain what you want to achieve. Objectives define strategies or steps to take to attain the identified goal.
A wellness program should have a “destination”. Use the results of your surveys and your wellness committee’s mission statement as guides. Consider these ideas -
o Focus on making medical information and learning resources readily available to staff
o Focus on group activities so employees can work together to support and encourage healthier life choices
o Develop a wellness program that is visible to both workforce and to your patrons
o Focus on written policies and guidelines
o Make sure to set objectives for your wellness program.
Review Guidelines for Writing Objectives.
Health Promotion Program Goals Should be
Specific – A goal is specific when it provides a description of what’ll be accomplished. It will state exactly what the corporation intends to accomplish.
It ought to be written so that it may be easily and clearly communicated. A specific goal will make it easier for those writing objectives and action plans to address the following questions -
o Who is to be involved?
o What is to be accomplished?
o Where’s it to be done?
o When’s it to be done?
Measurable – A goal is measurable when it’s quantifiable. To determine when your goal is measurable, ask questions such as – Just how much? Just how many? Just how will I know when it’s accomplished?
Attainable – You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that permits you to carry out those steps. Goals that might have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable.
Realistic – Realistic, means “do-able.” the goal needs to be realistic for your company and where the company is at the moment.
A goal to take out all the high fat items in the vending machine might not be realistic for your corporation right now; a better goal would be to substitute some chips, candy bars and pies for pretzels, yogurt and dried fruit.
Timely – Lastly, a goal must’ve a timeframe – for next week, in three months, by age 35. It must’ve a starting and ending point. It should also have some intermediate points at which progress could be evaluated.
Limiting the time in which a goal should be accomplished helps to focus effort toward its achievement. When you don’t set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there’s no urgency to start taking action now.